Help me tackle AK

[vicarrieous]

On our last trip (it was our first) Animal Kingdom was literally a beast. It was our least favorite day which I feel partially was our fault, but left the park a bit tainted for us. On our upcoming trip, we want to give it a second chance, but I need your help convincing me how/what to do to have a better time. We missed Dinoland, both shows and Rafiki's as by 1 we were hot, crabby and stressed. We got there at 7:30am for a PPO breakfast at Tusker which we loved, headed to the Safari on a FP which was fun, checked out the character spot, did the Maharaja Trek, Flights of Wonder show and ate lunch. Then we had planned to catch the Lion King show but all four of us were DONE.

Some of the reasons we struggled:
1. Felt super congested - I hear with a stroller and smaller walkways this happens with AK. It also was "predicted" to be a 3 day from various crowd calendars but looking back they adjusted from an 8-10!
2. Confusing/Difficult to navigate. Other parks I had glanced at a map beforehand and had a good idea of where things were and how to get to them. AK left us turned around, stressed and confused. We completely missed Dinoland!
3. Limited "attractions" or long ways to get to each. This is partially our fault. We don't do many of the headliners because DH and DS's are chickens so no Everest, no Dinosaur, no water rides (Kali). We were also told in advance that It's tough to be a Bug was scary and avoid.
4. HOT! This was unavoidable, but without any inside air conditioned rides for us it was tough. We also didn't have a table service lunch which I see as a mistake as that might have helped us refuel and cool down. That was November and this year we are going in January which may alleviate this

So that leaves me trying to get excited and figure out what to do with AK this year. We loved the decor and themes and I hoped when we went last year that AK would have been our more relaxed day especially without many rides that we had to do. We just didn't get that feel due to the reasons above which some are situational.

For those who are AK lovers, or those who aren't into the headliners, how do you conquer AK?
Here are what I have loosely planned in my head so far. Am I missing anything? Any suggestions? Touring plan ideas?

-Arrive for Rope Drop
-Wilderness Explorers (Interesting enough for 6 & 4 year old? I think my 6 year old would like the scavenger hunt idea, but will loose interest if its too long)
- Dinoland (is there much to do there besides rides?)
- Lion King Show (4 year old is in love with Lion King/Lion Guard. I know there aren't any Lion Guard characters)
- Table Service Lunch
- Afternoon Break

Our other option would be to sleep in that day and go closer to night time to enjoy some of the night time things, but DH isn't a huge fan of missing rope drop and the lower crowds.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[DAKL101]

Definitely do the Explorers!! Mine are 9 and 5 - they are obsessed with it. We go every two weeks or so to the parks and they are still not done with it. However, when *you* have reached your limit then it is time to stop.

Def Lion King and Def Nemo. There are two animal trails one by Africa and one by Asia. There is also carnival games in Dinoland and a "Dumbo"-esque ride - along with a great play ground called the Bone Yard. You can dig for fossils, slides, forts and a water feature. My kids could have spent all day there. Donald opens the Bone Yard and you get a special "opening ceremony shovel"

Take in all the culture shows and now that they are open until 11 you can do the night time show (and also parties in Asia/Afica). Spend time with the animals since your kids don't want to do the big rides. Think of AK like a world show case - it is a legitimate circle. You could start at Africa (with rafiki's planet watch - a petting zoo, with characters and a lab); then Asia followed by Dinoland. Discovery Island in the middle. The construction makes it seem confusing.

 

[adisneyaunt]

Rope drop... Though we enjoy it greatly, it makes for a long day for little ones...not sure I'd do that,,,
I'd suggest including the bone yard, dinoland, Safari, lion king, rafikis petting zoo, grabbing a table service lunch..AC/respite/decompression time refueling for mom/dad too, a win win.
It really is a beautiful park, but I too feel like it is stuffy/congested ...and so we typically arrive early and are done by about 3-4, thus giving us time to head back to the resort, take a breather and we usually head to Disney springs for the evening.
Wishing you a Magical Visit, sprinkled with some Pixie Dust, Enjoy!

 

[Barbara76]

For us what makes AK fun and one of our favorites is going slow, looking at all the details, the safari, EE, the Boneyard.

 

[vicarrieous]

Thanks! We definitely are an afternoon break family! Kids are early risers so we use rope drop, have lunch, then head back to the resort.

I am glad I am not the only one who feels that AK can get congested. I think reality may be just more enjoy the the view and plan a few things to do. We are leaning towards are the Lion King Show, Dinoland and maybe Safari again.

 

[mickeymom22]

Don't forget the Flights of Wonder show! My kids loved it!

The animal trails are beautiful too!

The Nemo show is a nice place to soak up the AC!

Please give AK another shot...It is a great park!

 

[SplashMo]

If you have park hoppers....

RD Epcot first and then head over to AK about 3PM for rides and the evening shows.

 

[bryanb]

This is so ironic, but AK is the one park where I embraced the Florida heat and made it mentally part of the experience. I'm reminded of those old movies where the actors are on safari in this brutal far off land, with old rusty fans clanking and the sun beating down on them. I know it's all fakery, but the AK theming is so good. Even the buildings are beat up and weathered.

I so appreciate going to AK with only a skeleton of a plan. If I hadn't taken the time to really enjoy the exhibits, I think I would've missed most of the fun of AK.

 

[Klayfish]

I would agree with you on some of your points. AK is hot. To us, it's far and away the hottest park at WDW. Which made it really nice to see the place at night, when we weren't sweating to death. It's also the hardest park to learn routes. We know them now because we've been there so many times, but it's not as intuitive as the other 3 are.

For us, it would be a struggle to really enjoy a lot of AK if we weren't going to ride EE, Dino, Kali, Whirl, Tough to be a Bug. Those are some of the main attractions for us. But there's still plenty you'd enjoy. The Safari is awesome. I'd really recommend trying It's Tough to be a Bug. It's a 3D cartoon. It has some parts thrown in to be "scary"-ish, but it's still a cartoon. It's fun. Lion King and Nemo shows are good. Rafiki is OK, we've done it a few times, but we don't do it every trip. Dinoland has carnival games, but you have to pay extra for those. The walking trails are fun, but you can wear out quickly on a hot day.

Give AK another shot, and go with a different mindset than you do for the other 3 parks. It's a very different style.

 

[mdsouth]

Another one that finds AK very confusing to maneuver around in. Like you, we do not like the big rides. So, my DD and I spent time walking the trails.

We have yet to see Lion King since it closed on our most recent trip because the new theatre was being built. And on our first trip, I, too was just overwhelmed and confused on where everything was that we missed it. Finding Nemo show is a great show.

In my view, there isn't much at Dinoland if you do not do the rides. I remember my daughter waiting and waiting around for my DH and son to ride Primevil Whirl over and over and we were very bored. My DD did not like the Boneyard, too many other kids and it was very hot.

 

[jhoannam]

We had a very similar experience during our first trip. My child cried the entire bus ride back to the resort. This time we are taking a different approach, sleeping in and enjoying the evening hours at AK. Now let's just hope they extend the hours past 7pm in October.

 

[lyssabee]

Last time (also our first time) we went to WDW, my son was 6. I thought about skipping Animal Kingdom entirely and I'm so glad we didn't! Like you, we don't like thrill rides or the water rides, and we aren't into the shows either. And I know exactly how you feel about losing your bearings because I feel the same way at Hollywood Studios - nothing is where I think it should be! Anyway here's what worked for us - accidentally, I have to say, I didn't plan this at all:

We got there pretty early, but not at rope drop. We got the Wilderness Explorers booklet when we walked in (more on that in a second) and then headed all the way back to the Safari, checking out animals on the way and doing a couple of the Wilderness Explorer stations. I don't think we had FP for the Safari, but the wait wasn't bad. This was the only ride we went on.

Since we were all the way in the back corner of the park, we walked through Africa, through Asia, and hit quick services and Wilderness Explorer stations as we went. In fact I had the BEST snack of the whole trip at AK - the samosas from Mr Kamal's cart. I understand there's a new drink cart too, that we'll be investigating.

The beauty of the Wilderness Explorers is that you find a station, you complete the task, you get a sticker, then you move on. It's not like Agent P where you have to keep going to get the payoff (though we also love Agent P!) There's almost no way to do all of them - we saved our book and are bringing it back with us in December. But your kids shouldn't get bored, because they're pretty quick.

So we walked through Asia, past EE, down to the Boneyard. My kid, who wants to be a paleontologist, spent a good 45 minutes digging, and only left because we had had enough We went to Flame Tree for lunch, which was good enough, and then headed out of the park. We were there till maybe 3:00 or so.

The moral of my story is, don't overplan for AK! Just check out the sights, and the food, and the Wilderness Stations, and when you've had enough, head back to your hotel. I hope you have a better experience this trip.

 

[vicarrieous]

Thanks everyone! I think I have realized that we don't even need to FP this park. Our plan will be get there early but maybe even not rope drop. We are going to walk around the trails and see animals. Maybe just approach it more like a zoo day and see some animals. Then spend some time at Dinoland and have lunch. We will probably catch a show and head out. That evening we will head to another park and use the FP.